Cal South, the official youth and adult state soccer association for Southern California, is proud to announce Cal South Pro+, the next evolution of player identification and development in the United States.

Pro+ combines all of Cal South's current and future elite player development initiatives and places them under one integrated structure. With the support of Nike, the areas of emphasis for Pro+ are the identification, development, inclusion and advancement of the top male and female soccer players in Southern California.

"We are incredibly proud of our history of success in placing players into the national team programs and winning national championships, but this is about taking a strong program and making it even better, said Steve Hoffman, Cal South's Director of Coaching and Player Development. "One of the great strengths of the Pro+ program is that it allows us to concentrate our resources on Southern California. Our camps and pools will be held here with U.S. Soccer scouts and coaches
coming to see, evaluate and work with our players at local facilities. This also allows us to expand our professional scouting system and Pro+ will now involve more players, including those from underserved communities. Players that might have been missed or excluded will now be seen and included."

"We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Pro+ enterprise and excited about the prospects it represents for our players," says Cal South President Johnnie Garza. "Pro+ signifies a strategic shift on the part of Cal South to evolve our Elite Player Identification and Development model for the future. It is a progressive initiative which is adaptive for the ever changing soccer environment our players and their families are currently facing. It leverages our core strength of
geography, populace and infrastructure to enable players in their pursuit of soccer opportunities while mitigating the barriers and burdens associated with travel costs and other expenses."

Garza states that Pro+ will open doors. "With the adoption of Pro+, Cal South is now positioned to provide diverse soccer opportunities to players not previously assessable to them. Essentially, it is an initiative inspired by our primary customer: the soccer player. Pro+ is part of Cal South's vision for the future. It will allow us to launch into multiple quadrants and provide practical alternatives and options for our player membership. I am especially excited by the outreach
opportunities we envision within our Inclusion component as we advance the program."

The first Pro+ event is the Pro+ Invitational Tournament on Memorial Day Weekend. Elite boys and girls age group state teams will be competing.